Break from the Bell: Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial

During our time in Northern France, we visited another significant Canadian First World War Memorial, the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial. The scene we witnessed upon arrival was one of a beautiful park; paths winding through tree-lined green fields off of a quiet country road; white, billowy clouds in a blue sky with the only sounds being the songbirds. However, as with the Vimy Memorial, it didn't take much time or imagination for the sombre history of this land to sink in.

Just over a century ago, on July 1, 1916, this is where the first and the deadliest day of the Battle of the Somme was fought. To be more precise, 57 000 Commonwealth soldiers were killed or injured on this day, the heaviest losses ever suffered by the British Army during one day of fighting.

Among those fighting were 800 men from the Dominion of Newfoundland, as part of the 88th Brigade, who were the third wave of attackers on that day. At 9:15 am, when it was already tragically clear that the battle was not going according to plan, these men were nevertheless ordered to attack overland from their trench at the rear, entitled "St. John's Road", as the communication and support trenches that led to the front line trench were blocked with dead and injured soldiers. It is said that the Newfoundlanders walked into an intense hail of machine gun and artillery fire with their chins down as if they were walking into a blowing blizzard. Such an image. It leaves one with a heaviness, as does the following fact:

The next morning only 68 of the 800 men were present at roll call.

The Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial created by the sculptor Basil Gotto that is surrounded by trees and shrubs native to Newfoundland.

On this plaque are the names of 820 Newfoundland soldiers whose final resting places are unknown

A photo from the Veterans Affairs Canada Website of the opening of this memorial site on June 7, 1925.

The caribou was the emblem worn on the badge of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.

The view from atop the memorial of the still visible labyrinth of British trenches below, and the flat stretch of no man's land just beyond. The German trenches were located by the trees in the distance.

The front line British trench with the original metal supports still showing.

This battle was not the surprise for the Germans that the British had intended, and the shelling beforehand that was meant to destroy the German barbed wire was a failure. Consequently, the Newfoundland Regiment had only a few narrow passageways cut through the wire to continue towards the enemy, and it is at these vulnerable spots that the Germans knew to have their artillery aimed. One of these paths through the wire was by the landmark known to the men as "Danger Tree" that was located to the right and midway across no man's land. Most men did not make it past this point alive. The original tree no longer stands, but this replica stands in the exact same spot.

Because of this savage loss, July 1st is an official day of mourning in Labrador and Newfoundland. I never knew this. But, on every Canada Day from now on, I too will pause to remember these men that died so senselessly on this bloody first day of the Somme.

The timing of our visit to Beaumont-Hamel couldn't have been better as the replica WW1 planes arrived for a low fly-by, and so we got a much better view of them than we had at the Vimy Memorial. Grace even had one of the pilots wave at her. It was even more meaningful when we found out afterwards that these two planes above were the ones that my friend's father had flown and had worked on at the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley, B.C. Thanks, Mr. Beales! It was a treat to get a close-up view of your planes in action over French soil.

Before heading back to the Côte d'Azur, we spent a few days in the Normandy countryside at a house, Chalet D'Eawy, rented from the kindest people. It was so peaceful and they had a ping-pong table and animals to boot, two big pluses for the girls. We easily could have stayed there longer.

Our neighbours in Normandy dropping by to say hello at our kitchen window,

Our Normandy house was just down the road from a goat cheese farm. We had never seen goats milked before, but this cat sure knew the routine and when to show up for a bowl of fresh milk.